Your writing WILL come---and how many times have most of us treated a Google query like a question to a childhood Magic 8 Ball ("Will I get better if I __X__?") AI is similar, but a tad too sycophantic for me. May I recommend a few decades of the rosary, even if you no longer believe?
Advice you've probably already gotten: I am no teetotaler, but be wary of alcohol, especially where you're at currently. Simply because a) it's a depressant. Not a value judgment, that's just chemically what it does. And b) it works, which is the hazard. It numbs pain both physical and mental very nicely. It's just the long-term cost is going to inflict its own pain & damage. So I simply say be wary. And be well. I look forward to your continued work; you are in my prayers.
It doesn't have to be "worth the wait" if the trip along the road is most worthwhile, and as much as many your readers surely feel your pain (some to an extremely, surely, who have shared some of your circumstances), reading your clear description of the steps, and processes, is in and of itself valuable. And for others who have been spared the specific pain you have experienced, the very richness of life, in its dark and light, is valuable to read about. Not sure that makes any sense. Maybe I could give the shorter version: what you write is most worthwhile to read. It doesn't have to deliver a specific punch, a specific product, a pre-set, weighty reward. That is an unnecessary pressure (seems to me) to put upon yourself
This piece, dear Steve, arrived in time for my two gluten-free waffles and two eggs. They started out hot but two bites in, and I was once again transported to the world of my dear Steve. Nothing like cold, clammy eggs and petrified g.f. waffles which tend to turn into cardboard if you don't eat them warm. But I digress.
You realize how "new and improved " you are, I hope.
Sometimes, in our misery, we are so focused on each specific negative aspect of our current situation, we totally miss the overall point.
And from where I sit on my couch with remnants of my once hot breakfast, I truly wish you could see you through my eyes. What a sight! And how grateful I am that I see it.
I'm in Nashville and we were hit pretty hard by that ice storm. As of right now, 106,000 customers are still without power (starting from 230,000), and we're one of them. But we were prepared so it's not so bad for us. Still, there are lots of tree branches all around our house, and two downed trees. It was scary when big tree branches fall from 50 feet up and land 30 feet away from the house. I'm not sure when we'll be able to drive down our steep drive. Right now, looking at the forecast of cold weather, it seems like it will be a long time. But of course, the days will pass, the ice will melt, and life will go back to what it was - well I have a lot of clean up to do before that.
Isn't that how things always seem?
You're in the midst of a storm, and the forecast isn't so good. But given time, things change. We have work to do to get back to "normal" and some of that work isn't fun. But it can be handled, piece by piece.
Talk to the AI about what you want to write - if only to get it out in the open. Have it try to summarize what you've told it - so you can see how it misses what you were trying to say. And then go from there. If the time is right for that project, it will come.
Steve, your posts on X are an essential part of my morning iPad routine after the online newspaper. When one of those posts is a link to a Substack post, all the better. I’m sure there are plenty of others like me who would happily read whatever strikes you to put down on (virtual) paper, so have at it.
Thanks, Mick! What I like about X is that the threshold is low enough to get ideas out without having to fully develop them. You can put insights and half realizations down without anyone expecting more. (And if they do want more, they can ask and have that discussion with you.)
I'd prefer to put more of that energy here, but longform requires a lot more connective tissue.
Just start writing stream-of-conscious-style and edit it later if you feel writer's block. If it gets too big, break it into separate substacks (part 1, 2,..., etc). It's not enough to just sit around people entirely as an observer (say, visiting a gym, which I find helpful at times, though I don't engage in conversation then). One has at least engage in casual conversation on occasion. Book clubs maybe? (You can cheat by reading book summaries with "spoilers" on Goodreads.com.) Join a political party club meeting, or the Knights, or whatever local Moose Club there is. Knights is great--just limit your volunteering. I do very limited volunteering through the church (and so do a lot of the other old ladies) because I don't have the energy and I have a lot of unattended chores. But I've made many acquaintance-level friends that way, and it's enough. (Avoid the Freemasons.) I'm glad your cold improved, glad you didn't lose power, glad you saved your files, glad your youtube will soon be up. Do occasional livestreams with superchats $$$. You may be experiencing cabin fever, which I found to be so unpleasant in NEPA (Pocono Mts) in winter that I'm determined to live in FL most of winters (and other times to catch rays and the beach) if my family responsibilities let me (a big maybe). But now even FL is really too cold to be outside much until peak warmth of day (Daytona Beach). At least there's sunshine here, almost always. I cured myself of sciatica some years ago by being a compulsive Arabesque-r. (Madonna: "Strike a pose.") Cured it, and it has never come back, but I probably do Arabesques 15 minutes sprinkled throughout the day. What's an Arabesque? Ask youtube. It feel like a semi-plank. I hold the leg-extended-in-back position much longer than this ballerina does--say, at least 3 seconds, but maybe up to 10 seconds,and try letting go of the "ballet bar" and holding the position to maintain balance. If one extends one's arms to the side in this position, one resembles an airplane in flight standing on one leg. Also great stress buster.
Your writing WILL come---and how many times have most of us treated a Google query like a question to a childhood Magic 8 Ball ("Will I get better if I __X__?") AI is similar, but a tad too sycophantic for me. May I recommend a few decades of the rosary, even if you no longer believe?
Advice you've probably already gotten: I am no teetotaler, but be wary of alcohol, especially where you're at currently. Simply because a) it's a depressant. Not a value judgment, that's just chemically what it does. And b) it works, which is the hazard. It numbs pain both physical and mental very nicely. It's just the long-term cost is going to inflict its own pain & damage. So I simply say be wary. And be well. I look forward to your continued work; you are in my prayers.
It doesn't have to be "worth the wait" if the trip along the road is most worthwhile, and as much as many your readers surely feel your pain (some to an extremely, surely, who have shared some of your circumstances), reading your clear description of the steps, and processes, is in and of itself valuable. And for others who have been spared the specific pain you have experienced, the very richness of life, in its dark and light, is valuable to read about. Not sure that makes any sense. Maybe I could give the shorter version: what you write is most worthwhile to read. It doesn't have to deliver a specific punch, a specific product, a pre-set, weighty reward. That is an unnecessary pressure (seems to me) to put upon yourself
This piece, dear Steve, arrived in time for my two gluten-free waffles and two eggs. They started out hot but two bites in, and I was once again transported to the world of my dear Steve. Nothing like cold, clammy eggs and petrified g.f. waffles which tend to turn into cardboard if you don't eat them warm. But I digress.
You realize how "new and improved " you are, I hope.
Sometimes, in our misery, we are so focused on each specific negative aspect of our current situation, we totally miss the overall point.
And from where I sit on my couch with remnants of my once hot breakfast, I truly wish you could see you through my eyes. What a sight! And how grateful I am that I see it.
Thank you, Debby. Also cold gluten-free anything is always the worst, lol!
Hang in there Steve, and get after it with the Kale project. The big essay will come at its own time, but the podcast seems the priority.
At least the Giants hired Jim Harbaugh! So you've got that going for you.
I'm in Nashville and we were hit pretty hard by that ice storm. As of right now, 106,000 customers are still without power (starting from 230,000), and we're one of them. But we were prepared so it's not so bad for us. Still, there are lots of tree branches all around our house, and two downed trees. It was scary when big tree branches fall from 50 feet up and land 30 feet away from the house. I'm not sure when we'll be able to drive down our steep drive. Right now, looking at the forecast of cold weather, it seems like it will be a long time. But of course, the days will pass, the ice will melt, and life will go back to what it was - well I have a lot of clean up to do before that.
Isn't that how things always seem?
You're in the midst of a storm, and the forecast isn't so good. But given time, things change. We have work to do to get back to "normal" and some of that work isn't fun. But it can be handled, piece by piece.
Talk to the AI about what you want to write - if only to get it out in the open. Have it try to summarize what you've told it - so you can see how it misses what you were trying to say. And then go from there. If the time is right for that project, it will come.
Glad you guys are ok, Dean. Sounds like a lot of folks out your way are struggling.
Well, dang, I just enjoyed your "randomness" in this writing! Your words move (it's alive!) and I loved the encounter with Snoop Dog repairman.
There is someplace you can go where there is Someone waiting just for you. And you know that answer.
Steve, your posts on X are an essential part of my morning iPad routine after the online newspaper. When one of those posts is a link to a Substack post, all the better. I’m sure there are plenty of others like me who would happily read whatever strikes you to put down on (virtual) paper, so have at it.
Thanks, Mick! What I like about X is that the threshold is low enough to get ideas out without having to fully develop them. You can put insights and half realizations down without anyone expecting more. (And if they do want more, they can ask and have that discussion with you.)
I'd prefer to put more of that energy here, but longform requires a lot more connective tissue.
Just start writing stream-of-conscious-style and edit it later if you feel writer's block. If it gets too big, break it into separate substacks (part 1, 2,..., etc). It's not enough to just sit around people entirely as an observer (say, visiting a gym, which I find helpful at times, though I don't engage in conversation then). One has at least engage in casual conversation on occasion. Book clubs maybe? (You can cheat by reading book summaries with "spoilers" on Goodreads.com.) Join a political party club meeting, or the Knights, or whatever local Moose Club there is. Knights is great--just limit your volunteering. I do very limited volunteering through the church (and so do a lot of the other old ladies) because I don't have the energy and I have a lot of unattended chores. But I've made many acquaintance-level friends that way, and it's enough. (Avoid the Freemasons.) I'm glad your cold improved, glad you didn't lose power, glad you saved your files, glad your youtube will soon be up. Do occasional livestreams with superchats $$$. You may be experiencing cabin fever, which I found to be so unpleasant in NEPA (Pocono Mts) in winter that I'm determined to live in FL most of winters (and other times to catch rays and the beach) if my family responsibilities let me (a big maybe). But now even FL is really too cold to be outside much until peak warmth of day (Daytona Beach). At least there's sunshine here, almost always. I cured myself of sciatica some years ago by being a compulsive Arabesque-r. (Madonna: "Strike a pose.") Cured it, and it has never come back, but I probably do Arabesques 15 minutes sprinkled throughout the day. What's an Arabesque? Ask youtube. It feel like a semi-plank. I hold the leg-extended-in-back position much longer than this ballerina does--say, at least 3 seconds, but maybe up to 10 seconds,and try letting go of the "ballet bar" and holding the position to maintain balance. If one extends one's arms to the side in this position, one resembles an airplane in flight standing on one leg. Also great stress buster.
https://youtube.com/shorts/-j32ZOfxQjo?si=ajJ3LVDQuPDbdw45